


Sometimes the Universe Gets It Wrong

by Artemis_Egeria



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AUgust 2020, AUgust Day 3, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Discrimination, F/M, Not-Soulmates AU, Past Relationship(s), Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26140600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Egeria/pseuds/Artemis_Egeria
Summary: The others waiting for their orders gave her a wide berth. Wanda was used to this treatment, of course, but it did not make always being a pariah any more bearable. She hated being alone. In a world full of soulmates, a sign that you had betrayed yours was a social death sentence. Even if it didn’t mean what people thought it did.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 12
Kudos: 32
Collections: AE's Scarlet Vision AUgust 2020, AUgust 2020





	Sometimes the Universe Gets It Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Or a not-soulmates AU. I’ve been wanting to work on this concept forever. The soulmate concept can be fun, and I have seen it done very well, but I’ve always imagined that there would be a lot of problems in a world like that. 
> 
> I’ve had versions of the concept in my drafts since early 2019, but I keep changing my mind on the plot. So here’s a little taste. Hopefully, I’ll get around to the longer, more completely thought out version at some point.

The barista tried not to stare at Wanda’s hand, but he could not keep the disgusted sneer off his face. “Will that be all, miss?” Wanda hated that dismissive syllable said in that tone, but she held her tongue.

“Yes, that’s all.” She noticed that the barista wiped his pristine blue palm on his trousers after she had paid him.

The others waiting for their orders gave her a wide berth. Wanda was used to this treatment, of course, but it did not make always being a pariah any more bearable. She hated being alone. In a world full of soulmates, a sign that you had betrayed yours was a social death sentence. Even if it didn’t mean what people thought it did.

She knew her brother would never turn her away if he had been alive. Wanda felt selfish for even allowing herself the thought. Pietro deserved to be alive for so many other reasons.

But he wasn’t. The world was unfair in so many ways. So, she finished her coffee and held her head up high as she ran to her job.

By the end of the day, the world proved that it could be even more unfair. She had lost yet another job. She had been one minute late. Her boss was always looking for an excuse to get rid of her. She had spent the rest of the day getting every door slammed in her face, shivering in her threadbare coat. She finally entered the elevator to her apartment, grateful to be alone and give in to the tears that had been threatening to spill over all day.

When someone new came up at the last minute. She held out her hand to stop the door from closing, aware too late that she was showing her red palm to this stranger. He hid his reaction better than most, simply offering her a shy half smile. “Thank you for the holding the door.”

Wanda shrugged, not trusting her voice at the moment. She tried to ignore the fragrant bag of carry-out he was holding, but her stomach growled. She had not eaten since her coffee that morning.

They rode in silence for a few moments when a loud creak sounded and a jerk rocked the elevator. Then, it stopped dead. When it did not start after a few minutes, Wanda sank down into the corner. She’d heard rumors of it taking hours to fix the elevator when it broke, even after many attempts to call for help. She was trapped, trapped…

“Miss, are you alright?” The voice was surprisingly close to her. She opened her eyes. The stranger maintained a respectful distance, but he was crouched down on her level. The dreaded word was not so bad coming from this man’s smooth, nonjudgmental voice.

“Yeah, I just hate enclosed spaces.”

“Would having something to eat help to distract you?” She shrugged. She didn’t have any energy to deal with unwanted advances today, but he seemed sincere.

“Maybe.”

“I just moved here myself, but I found a delightful Indian restaurant down the road. I have samosas, tandoori chicken, curry, palak paneer, and chana masala.” Wanda only knew what some of those things were, but her mouth watered at the aromas floating from inside. He began to open the bag and pull everything out, thankfully complete with utensils and napkins.

Wanda still thought this was too good to be true. Her luck was to get stuck in elevators, but not with kind, handsome strangers who treated her like a person. “I know you saw my hand. You still willing to share a meal with me?”

His smile was another surprise. “Why, yes, I am.” He gestured to the open dishes. “Take anything you would like. There is plenty.” The reason he was being so accommodating became clear when he removed his right glove.

Wanda blinked at his hand. It bore the tell-tale red palm. She had never met someone else who had fallen out of love with their soulmate in person before. She’d seen the natural skin tone palms of those who had not met their soulmates yet. She’d seen the black palms of those whose soulmates had died. She’d seen the greyed-out palms of those whose soulmates had died far too young.

But this was the first time she had seen the scarlet palm of a faithless one. There were many causes of someone’s palm turning red, but the only one ever thought to look for was betraying your soulmate. It was a difficult mark to overcome. Most people held their soulmates so dear that they could not imagine a mutual break or any valid reason to leave one’s soulmate voluntarily. Whole novels had been dedicated to villainizing anyone

“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say, so she just selected a piece of naan and dipped it into the curry. She took a few bites to help her regain her composure.

“So, I guess we should share our whole sob stories while we’re stuck here.” It was a poor attempt at a joke, but she didn’t know what else to say.

The stranger took her remark seriously, pursing his lips. “If you would like. I must admit the thought of sharing the tale with an understanding ear is pleasant. I have never been able to discuss it with anyone.”

“Neither have I.” Put like that, Wanda was more open to the prospect. “Hmm. I guess we can.”

“Ladies first.”

She shrugged again, pulling her sleeves down over her hands. She had never repeated these events out loud before. “From the beginning?”

“It is your story. I will listen to whatever you would like to share.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Well, I met my soulmate, Ben, in college. At first everything was perfect. We had fun together. Everything was going smoothly, and we never argued. When we moved into together after college, I thought we would be married within the year.” Wanda had to pause at that point. Her heart was still bruised over everything that came next, though no longer broken. She cleared her throat.

“Then, our jobs began to keep us apart. I tried to keep us together, but we argued. And every time it happened, he refused to accept that we had a disagreement. We were deemed soulmates. How could a petty argument mean anything?”

Wanda had to pause again. She shook her head to clear it of the bitterness that was clouding her mind once more. “I don’t even remember what we argued about now. Just that he refused to listen. I still don’t know fully how I fell out of love with him, but one morning I looked at my hand, and it was red. I couldn’t believe it at first.” She’d felt such overwhelming shame when she realized she was now marked for life.

“Ben had been working a night shift when my palm first turned. When he came home, he saw my hand immediately. He accused me of cheating. I swore up and down that I would never do that to him, but he refused to give me one minute to defend myself.” She choked down a few more bites. Hazarding a glance at Vision, she was comforted by his understanding nod. “I couldn’t stay after that. I moved in with my brother.” She didn’t tell him how he’d died shortly after that; she wasn’t quite ready to expose one more sad aspect of her life.

She swallowed back her tears as she focused her stare on Vision. “Your turn.”

“My soulmate’s name is Lorraine.” He looked down at the fork in his hand as if it were the most fascinating thing on earth. “We met at the library. She was trying to reach around me for a book, and we brushed hands. And that was all. We got to know each other. I liked her very much, but I felt nothing more for her.”

He paused as well to pick at his food. “But still, I moved in with her, convinced I would grow to love her in good time. I think she always suspected. She resented that I could not say, ‘I love you.’ Our relationship became colder and more silent. Then, like you, one day I looked down to find my hand was red. Lorraine moved out the next day.”

Once they were both finished, they sat in silence. But soon they were both full and had nothing more to occupy themselves with. The silence was broken when they both reached for a napkin at the same time and their hands brushed. They both pulled back, laughing involuntarily at the awkwardness.

Vision gestured for her to go first, like the real gentleman she was beginning to believe he was. Once they were cleaned up, they put the leftovers in the bag.

The space was starting to close in on Wanda again, but Vision pulled out a notebook. They played tic tac toe, hangman, and other mindless little games. Wanda had completely lost track of time when the elevator started moving. It brought them to the third floor. She scrambled up while Vision held the door open.

She wondered if this was a one-time thing brought about by being trapped together, but the way Vision was smiling so tentatively at her made her think it didn’t have to be. “I feel like I owe you for dinner, and the distractions.”

“Not at all. I had a lovely time. The pleasure was all mine.”

“The pleasure wasn’t all yours.” She grinned up at him, and he glanced away bashfully. She could get used to that look. “So how about this? Instead of making it up to you, I’ll invite you to my place for a movie night just to have more fun.”

“I would like that very much.”

“Tomorrow at eight at Apartment 3B?”

“That works for me.” They had drifted closer during the conversation, and Wanda was considering kissing him good night when a couple cleared their throat outside the elevator.

“See you then.” She scrambled around Vision and the couple. She was still smiling to herself as she entered her apartment.

***

Wanda pulled out her key to Vision’s apartment, letting herself in along with her picnic basket. She was glad that she was able to get there before Vision to set everything up. She laid out a plush blanket and started lighting candles.

It had been a year since they met, and Wanda wanted to make a special night of it. Much had changed. Thanks to the Internet, Wanda had finally found a steady job with an organization that sought to help fellow red-palmed individuals who could not catch a break.

When Vision finally walked in, he looked duly impressed by her efforts. “Well, I must say this is a far nicer set-up than our picnic the night we met.” He sank down next to her after neatly hanging his coat on the hook by the door. Wanda turned her face to his for a kiss. He obliged her before sinking down next to her. “How was your day?”

She leaned against him and started pulling out all the dishes they’d eaten on the night of their first meeting. Vision smiled at her in fond reminiscence. “Good. I was working with a new client. What about yours?”

“It was the usual. Nothing to report.”

They dug into their meal, eating with relish after long work-days.

“No crazy stories today?” Vision worked tech support and frequently had the most over-the-top customers try to get help for their often self-inflicted problems.

“Not today. But I suppose I could invent one if you would like.”

Wanda chuckled and bumped her shoulder against his. “That’s okay. We can talk about our weekend plans instead.”

Vision nodded. They both frequently worked weekends, but this one was free for both of them. So, they arranged some sight-seeing in the city that they had both barely been able to explore as they enjoyed their feast. Once they were done, Wanda pushed a final tray toward Vision. He uncovered it to reveal the chocolate-covered strawberries she had prepared with a look of flattering delight. “My favorites!”

Vision’s enthusiasm at moments like these was always adorable. “I know. That’s why I made sure to have them tonight.”

“Thank you.” He leaned in to give her a quick peck on the lips. Then, he selected a strawberry and offered it to her. She ate it delicately from his fingers, taking time to lick her lips of the juice and chocolate. She was gratified when his eyes followed the movement carefully. Wanda repeated the same gesture toward him. She couldn’t hold back a moan as Vision’s tongue and teeth grazed her fingers.

Their smiles grew at these intimate gestures. Abandoning the strawberries, Vision moved closer to give her a proper kiss. One hand cradled the back of her head and the other her lower back when he dipped her. She clutched at his neck, returning his kiss with all the fervor that was burning through her. 

When they paused to breathe, Wanda pushed the rest of the empty dishes out of the way and pulled Vision toward her by the lapels. “Come here. I want to celebrate properly.”

***

Wanda and Vision entered the city clerk’s office hand in hand. She smiled at them pleasantly. “Take a seat, please. This will only take a moment.” Her smile vanished at she glanced through their files. Wanda had been waiting for this. She knew things had been going so smoothly, very unlike the rest of the process of seeking a marriage license.

The clerk peered over the folder to try to get a glimpse of their right hands. When she saw their matching red palms, she had much the same reaction as most people did. “Well,” she sniffed, “it appears that you do deserve each other.” Her voice absolutely dripped with scorn.

Wanda found that the best way to deal with those sentiments was deliberate misunderstanding. She put on her best bright smile. “Thank you! I think we do.” The registrar was now forced to either let the comment go or make her opinion plainer. She chose the former and moved on to the questions she had to ask for the license.

There were no more pleasantries, but her desire to get Wanda and Vision out of her office at least made the process quicker. She reluctantly signed and stamped their license. With only a few more words, she directed them to the line down the hall to wait for their turn with the justice of the peace.

There were five couples in front of them. As soon as the others saw their hands, they kept their distance, forming a tight knot to keep the betrayers away. Wanda sought to ignore them as best she could. Vision only held her hand more tightly and tried to pass the time with polite small talk.

When it was their turn, the officiant frowned at them, but gestured them forward. Wanda and Vision stood in front of him to finish what they had set out to do months ago. They clasped each other hands through the short ceremony. The officiant was being as brisk as possible. When he reached the end, he turned slightly to Vision, “Do you take this woman to be your wife, though she is not your given soulmate?”

“I do.”

“And do you take this man to be your husband, though you are denying your true soulmate his proper bride?”

Wanda fought back a growl, but focused on Vision to keep herself calm. “I do.”

The justice of the peace did not even try to hold back a resigned sigh. “Then, by the powers vested in me by the State of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife.” He gave them no cue to kiss as he had the others, but Wanda got on her tiptoes and kissed Vision soundly anyway.

They didn’t stay any longer than necessary, eager to return home where they could enjoy each other’s company in peace, without the relentless disapproval of the people around them.

Once they were safely ensconced in their apartment, they opened the bottle of champagne that they had set to chill earlier. It was only the two of them, but it was as joyful a celebration as they could have wished. They let the coldness of the world fall away from them, melted by the warmth of their loving embrace.

Vision put on some soft jazz, and they spent the evening swaying together to the music. No matter what anyone else might say, they were together and they were home. That was all they ever needed.


End file.
